Naturalism Case - Stephen Crane's "the Open Boat"

Naturalism is defined by Merriam-Webster as a style of art or literature that shows people and things as they actually are (Merriam-Webster). Naturalism is much like literary realism, which denotes life as accurately as possible, except is much more detailed. Naturalism can also be thought of as the way writers highlight the role of the environment and outside forces on their characters rather than focusing on the individuality of the characters themselves. The naturalist literary movement took place in the United States at the turn of the century. Stephen Crane and Jack London are two writers that used naturalism extensively throughout their work. The themes of naturalist writer's stories include: human experience, man's struggle against nature, survival and determinism.

Human Experience

Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" is among his best naturalist stories. It is a story of a real life incident that took place when he set sail for Cuba on the S.S Commodore in 1896, and his ship sunk off the coast of Florida shortly after departure ( Applegate, 86 ). The story is characteristic of a human experience in that Crane actually experienced the tragedy. Throughout the story the reader can feel the pain of the men and there is nothing that can be done. At one point Crane writes, "The correspondent, pulling at the oar, watched the waves and wondered why he was there" (Crane, 96). Anyone can relate to situations such as this, with that the author has an amazing way of manipulating the reader, and bringing them in to the story. Similarly in Jack London's "To Build a Fire", the reader is also drawn in to the story and wants to help this poor man in his attempt to fight the cold. Readers can relate to these two stories and through the characters in them because they are situations that can actually happen. The stories are written in a way that there you feel the hardships through the words.

Man's Struggle Against Nature

Man's struggle against nature is evident in "The Open boat" because the ship's crew is stranded on the sinking vessel and is required to battle the forces of nature to survive. At one point in the story the author writes, "The craft pranced and reared and plunged like an animal" (Crane, 96-97). Throughout the story there are examples of Mother Nature having her way with the small boat and the men. Crane writes, "A singular disadvantage of the sea lies in the fact that after successfully surmounting one wave you discover that there is another behind it just as important and just as nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats" (97). The sea is angry and she wants to consume the boat. In London's "To Build a Fire" Mother Nature is not indifferent in her pursuit of her claim. London writes, "Nose and cheeks were already freezing, while the skin of his body chilled as it lost blood" (London, 121). The character is fighting the bitter cold throughout the story while trying to justify his travel even though the old-timer told him that nobody must travel alone when it is fifty below in the Klondike (London, 121).

Survival

Survival is another theme represented in literary naturalism. In both of the stories the men have a natural instinct to survive and it is apparent through their actions and their thoughts. At one point in "The Open Boat" the correspondent says "If I am going to be drowned--if I am going to